Download User`s manual

FlexControl 14
User’s manual
5 february 2015
www.kae-systems.com
‘FlexControl 14’
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What’s this?
‘FlexControl 14’ is a universal multi-purpose MIDI device. It provides 14 digital buffered
outputs, controllable simultaneously by: 14 on-board digital inputs, MIDI messages or another
‘FlexControl 14’ device.
Hardware features (board revision A)
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14 high-current open-collector digital outputs for relays / LEDs / servo motors
14 digital inputs (pulled up) for buttons or switches
All digital inputs and outputs go out on standard 2,54mm male connectors
1 ‘MIDI In’ DIN5 connector
1 ‘MIDI Out/Thru’ DIN5 connector
Semi-transparent illuminated button for MIDI presets programming
RJ-45 jack for connecting another ‘FlexControl 14’ remote control board over straight-through
Ethernet cable.
Phantom power with configurable polarity available on pins 1 and 3 of the ‘MIDI In’ jack
2.5mm DC power jack (with center positive pin).
2-pin DC power connector
Reverse polarity protection
Specially designed for panel mounting
Non-volatile memory to store user configuration and presets
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Supplying phantom power to pins 1 and 3 of the MIDI In jack
Some MIDI devices can be powered through spare pins 1 and 3 of their MIDI Out jacks.
‘FlexControl 14’ is ready to complement this feature by providing 4 jumper pads on its bottom side.
Depending on the device you want to power, you’ll need to shorten jumpers J1+ and J1- or J2+ and J2, as shown on the picture below:
Please note: Do not shorten any of J1x and J2x jumpers simultaneously! That will short circuit
your power supply and almost certainly will damage it; ‘FlexControl 14’ will be certainly damaged
too!
How it works?
‘FlexControl 14’ comes with 3 pre-programmed firmware profiles (applications), which can be
activated and configured by special Windows® application ‘FlexControl configurator’.
All firmware profiles share some common features like:
Configurable activation edges on digital inputs. The choice is between falling and both falling
and rising edges. This allows both retentive and non-retentive switches to be attached to the
inputs.
• Individually configurable role of each output (PWM or simple digital)
• Individually configurable period and duty cycle for each PWM output
• All received MIDI messages are being output immediately on MIDI Out
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Following features are available for all profiles, except for ‘Remote’:
Configurable polarity of the outputs (normally ‘off’ or normally ‘on’), also applicable for PWM
outputs.
Configurable mutual exclusive outputs (i.e. “mutex”). In a mutex group, there can be only one
active output. There can be mutex and non-mutex outputs working in parallel.
Configurable delay at startup
Configurable reception MIDI channel (1-16 or all)
Configurable MIDI controller for relay output #1. The rest of the outputs have consecutive
increasing numbers.
Configurable MIDI presets.
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Each profile requires specific hardware wiring.
Profile “Amp control”
Designed to control guitar/bass amplifiers.
Wiring diagram
Firmware operation
• Each input can control only an output with the same number (In 1 -> Out 1; In 2 -> Out 2 and
etc.).
• All the 14 outputs have latching action (see below for the exception).
• One of the outputs can be assigned (optionally) to act as a pulse output, which is activated
simultaneously with any other output.
• Every output (except the pulse one) can be switched on and off individually by a MIDI ‘Control
change’ message.
• Some (or all) outputs can be configured in mutual exclusive group (“mutex”). In addition, the
state of all non-mutex outputs can be memorized and subsequently restored on activation of a
mutex output.
• Non-mutex outputs toggle on each activation.
• All outputs (except the pulse one) can be switched at once by a MIDI ‘Program change’
message.
• A MIDI preset can be programmed by starting a MIDI preset programming sequence.
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Profile “Looper”
Designed to control effect switching systems (a.k.a “loopers”) for musicians. The idea is the
musician to switch numerous effect pedals at once with a single button/switch.
Wiring diagram
Firmware operation
The user has 14 inputs, 14 relay outputs and 14 indication outputs. The relay outputs control the
effect pedals (on/off), while indication outputs show additional information depending on the work
mode. The relay outputs can be loaded at once by a ‘preset’. There are 14 local and 128 MIDI presets.
Those preset groups are independent from each other and are stored in separate non-volatile
memory locations. The local presets can be recalled only by the digital inputs, while the MIDI presets
can be recalled only by MIDI ‘Program change’ messages.
There are 3 modes of operation:
• ‘Preset’ – the user loads pre-programmed local presets into relay outputs.
• ‘Free’ – relay outputs can be freely turned on or off
• ‘Local preset programming’ – the user can define the local presets that’ll be used in ‘Preset’
mode.
One ‘FlexControl 14’ board can output only first 7 relay outputs and first 7 indication outputs; the
upper outputs are supplied by another ‘FlexControl 14’ board, working with profile ‘Remote’.
A MIDI preset can be programmed by starting a MIDI preset programming sequence, but only
from modes ‘Preset’ or ‘Free’.
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States and transitions diagram
Output activation requests – one of the following:
- Activation edges on local digital inputs 1-7
- Activation edges on remote digital inputs 1-14
- MIDI PC messages
- MIDI CC messages
Powerup
Automatic
transition
Output
activation
requests
Activate “Free” input
‘Preset’
Mode
‘Free’
Mode
Output
activation
requests
Activate
relay inputs
Activate
relay inputs
Activate
“Mute/Cancel”
input
Activate
“Mute/Cancel”
input
Hold “Program” input
low for at least 3 sec.
Activate
“Mute/Cancel”
input
MUTE
Activate
“Mute/Cancel”
input
Output
activation
requests
Local preset
programming,
stage ‘Setup
outputs’
Hold “Program” input
low for at least 3 sec.
Automatic
transition
Indicate
preset’s
storage
‘FlexControl 14’
Activate
relay inputs
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Activate
Activate
“Mute/Cancel”
“Program” input
input
Local preset
programming,
stage ‘Setup
preset index’
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Action table
Stimulus source
Stimulus type
Work mode
Preset
Relay inputs
Activation edge
Free
Local preset programming,
stage 'Setup outputs'
Local input 12
'Local
programming'
Active level
(Hold for at least
3 seconds to
enter 'Local
preset
programming'
mode)
Preset
Free
Local preset programming,
stage 'Setup outputs'
Activation edge
Local preset programming,
stage 'Setup preset index'
Local input 13
'Free'
Local input 14
'Mute/Cancel'
Activation edge
Activation edge
Preset
Free
All other
Preset
Free
Local preset programming
Mute
MIDI Program
change
message
MIDI Controller
change
message
‘FlexControl 14’
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value > 63
value < 64
Preset
Free
Preset
Free
Local preset programming
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Action
Input 1 loads preset #1, Input 2 loads
preset #2 etc.
Relay outputs show the currently active
local preset.
Indication outputs show the index of
currently active local preset.
Relay outputs:
- Mutex outputs: requested output is on,
others - off
- Non-mutex outputs: toggle
Indication outputs: all off
Relay outputs:
- Mutex outputs: requested output is on,
others - off
- Non-mutex outputs: toggle
Indication outputs: all on
Enter stage 'Setup outputs'
Indication outputs: all on.
Go to stage 'Setup preset index'
Indication outputs starts to toggle with fast
rate.
The indication outputs show the index of
currently programmed preset with 3-time
blink.
Go back to stage 'Setup outputs'
Go to "Free" mode
Go to "Normal" mode.
No effect.
Turn all relay outputs off immediately
If in stage "Setup outputs": return to
normal or free mode
If in stage "Setup preset number": return
to stage "Setup outputs"
Restore the previous state of relay outputs
Load a MIDI preset to relay outputs
Only relay outputs: turn on specific channel
Only relay non-mutex outputs: turn off
specific channel
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Profile “Remote”
Designed as slave extension or remote control when working together with another master
‘FlexControl 14’ board. Both master and slave boards should be connected with a straight-through
Ethernet cable (same pinout on both ends). The profile doesn’t react on MIDI PC and CC messages.
When used with master ‘Amp control’ board, it acts only as remote control:
- ‘Remote’ inputs and ‘Amp control’ inputs work in parallel.
- ‘Remote’ outputs copy the state of ‘Amp control’ outputs.
When used with master ‘Looper’ board, there are 2 scenarios:
• The ‘Looper’ interprets ‘Remote’ as remote control.
‘Remote’ device provide all 14 inputs. ‘Remote’s inputs 1-7 and ‘Amp control’s inputs 1-7 work in
parallel.
All ‘Remote’s outputs copy the state of ‘Looper’s outputs.
• The ‘Looper’ interprets ‘Remote’ as extension.
In this case ‘Remote’s outputs 1-7 will output relay outputs 8-14, and ‘Remote’s outputs 8-14 will
output indication outputs 8-14.
Wiring diagram
The wiring is the same as the wiring of the master board, except of the power jack and internal
power pins.
Important: The ‘Remote’ board should be powered only from the master board through the
Ethernet cable! Don’t connect any power supply to the remote board - neither to the DC power jack
nor the internal DC power connector!
MIDI preset programming sequence
(Only for firmware profiles ‘Amp Control’ and ‘Looper’)
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Power the device on.
Connect your MIDI controller’s MIDI output to the ‘FlexControl’s ‘MIDI In’ jack.
Press and hold the illuminated button until it starts to blink with a short pulse.
Configure the outputs you want in a preset (by on-board digital inputs / remote / MIDI CC
message)
Send a MIDI PC message from your MIDI controller. The illuminated button will start to blink
rapidly.
Press the button shortly to confirm the preset. It will light on for a while and after that will
revert automatically to short pulse blinking.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 if necessary
To exit the programming sequence, press and hold the illuminated button until it light off or
leave the board idle for 100 seconds.
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‘FlexControl configurator’ utility
All important parameters of the firmware profiles can be configured only with few mouse
clicks with the help of ‘FlexControl configurator’. It’s a small .NET GUI application for Microsoft®
Windows OS. Visit www.kae-systems.com for the latest version.
Following prerequisites should be fulfilled to run the application:
• Your OS version should be at least ‘Windows XP SP3’
• .NET 4.0 or .NET 4.5 framework installed on your computer. Installation requires administrator
privileges.
• A sound card with MIDI port or USB-MIDI cable connected to your computer.
Connect the MIDI Out jack of your device to the MIDI In jack of ‘FlexControl 14’ board and
launch the application.
First, you should select the active firmware profile, by clicking menu ‘Firmware profile’. Then
adjust the rest of parameters you need.
You can save the configuration you’ve made to a file.
Finally, hit the button ‘Write to device’ and wait for transfer to complete. The new
configuration will take effect at next power up.
Electrical specifications
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Supply voltage range: 7,5 – 25V, recommended 9 - 15V.
Power consumption: 20 mA @ 12V; no loads connected; all outputs off; LED off.
Straight-through Ethernet cable pinout
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Mechanical drawing
All dimensions in millimeters.
‘FlexControl 14’
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